In a preliminary decision, the Cologne Administrative Court has ruled that the powerful domestic spy agency, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), is temporarily prohibited from classifying the German political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) as right-wing extremist.
“The AfD’s urgent application was largely granted,” writes Welt. The main proceedings are still pending, with appeal now possible to the next higher court, the Higher Administrative Court for North Rhine-Westphalia in Münster.
The AfD is celebrating the decision.
“Not only is the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution no longer allowed to classify the AfD as “confirmed right-wing extremist,” but the Cologne Administrative Court has also indirectly thrown a spanner in the works for the ban fanatics with its ruling. A major victory not only for the AfD, but also for democracy and the rule of law!” AfD leader Alice Weidel posted to X.
Nicht nur darf der Bundesverfassungsschutz die AfD nicht mehr als "gesichert rechtsextrem" führen, das Verwaltungsgericht Köln schob mit seinem Beschluss auch den Verbotsfanatikern indirekt einen Riegel vor. Ein großer Sieg nicht nur für die AfD, sondern auch für Demokratie und… pic.twitter.com/Ppddsok8go
— Alice Weidel (@Alice_Weidel) February 26, 2026Welt further quotes the official ruling as stating that although it is “convinced that there remains a strong suspicion that the applicant is pursuing anti-constitutional aims, (AfD) is not characterized by these aims in such a way as to lead to the conclusion that, overall, an anti-constitutional tendency can be established.”
The proposed ban against the right-wing AfD has been seen by many as controversial and a form of political persecution to smother the party’s stance against mass immigration and other left-wing policies and preferred dogma.
Last July, Remix News published a piece detailing that a ban so opposed to open democracy was in no way favored by a majority of Germans. In a poll, 52 percent of Germans said they were against a ban of the AfD, while only 27 percent were in favor.
Just last November, German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, of the far-left Social Democrats (SPD), implied they must ban the AfD during a speech in which he called upon Germany to “act.” Although he did not name the party outright, most inferred he was targeting AfD.
“Never has a Federal President abused his office so much,” said Bernd Baumann, the AfD parliamentary group’s chief whip.
Welt even lambasted the speech in a column, stating, “The Federal President wants to defend democracy – and declares war on the AfD without naming it.”
Meanwhile, the leader of the “left-conservative” Reason and Justice alliance (BSW), Sahra Wagenknecht, congratulated AfD while slamming the Office for the Protection of the Constitution on X. “What a slap in the face for Dobrindt, Faeser, and the Constitutional Protection Agency! You don’t have to like the #AfD to take pleasure in the fact that the rule of law in Germany is still functioning,” she wrote, naming Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) and his predecessor, Nancy Faeser (SPD).
While on the opposite side of the political spectrum, Wagenknecht and Weidel have agreed on various topics, including arms for Ukraine, immigration, and sanctions on Russia.
“That the court decision is now turning into an election campaign gift for the AfD is the responsibility of those parties that have tried to combat their political competition with a commissioned favor-currying expert opinion, instead of finally realizing that their own lousy policies are what make the AfD ever stronger,” the BSW head concluded.
